Iran and Hamas Adore Darfur's Genocidal Dictator

[Weekly Standard]
Jonathan Schanzer -
The head of Hamas' politburo in Damascus, Khalid Mash'al, recently telephoned Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir and denounced the International Criminal Court's accusations against him, according to the Palestinian Maan News Agency website. The "armed wing" of Hamas also proclaimed Bashir's innocence on their website.
Without addressing the allegations, Mash'al decried the submission of international organizations to U.S. pressure. He confirmed Hamas' solidarity with Sudan, its leadership and people "in confronting this new conspiracy targeting Sudan through its head of state."
The Islamic Republic of Iran also defends Bashir. Last year, as international pressure mounted over the slaughter in Darfur, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad described Sudan as a second home full of "dear, pious and revolutionary brothers."
Ties over nearly two decades explain the current Hamas and Iranian support for Bashir, and why they ignore the incontrovertible evidence of genocide.
Islamist support for the Darfur genocide reveals much about the dangers of Islamism.
The writer, a former Treasury intelligence analyst, is the director of policy for the Jewish Policy Center.
2008-08-05 08:00:00Full Article